I just finished Path of Radiance, my thoughts?

[Ottservia]

So I just finished playing path of radiance for the first time and it was alright. I can definitely see why people like it so much. The story honestly gives me major one piece vibes what with themes on racism and breaking down social barriers. Ashnard is a pretty cool villain though I kinda wishe we got to see him more before actually fighting him but whatever I suppose. The world of Tellius is certainly vast and brimming with depth which I like quite a bit. 
 

I really liked the rivalry between Ike and the black knight but honestly it could’ve used more grandiose but otherwise it was good. I can’t say the story really grabbed me personally. There’s nothing wrong with the way the story is structured and the themes there in and there are a lot of genuinely good moments but ehh it was just kinda okay for me. Nothing special honestly. A solid 7/10 story.

[Hanes]

I'm waiting for the dum-dums who will complain the animations are slow and thus this game is 3/10 (even though GBA animations are also slow as hell). Also for the professionals who will say the game is easy (whilst not acknowledging they like have been playing for 10+ years) and give it a 2/10 (not saying it isn't easy but it's not something you just mindlessly do).

Anyways, I like the characters a lot, the Greil mercenaries' family interactions in the start are something I really enjoy, but the game drags on for a bit too long, and because of that and large unit deployments it feels like units never level-up without BEXP.

In terms of gameplay, I like how the turn limits play out for BEXP, they make the game more interesting imo. Anyways this was just my random collection of ideas with no rhyme or reason.

I'll give it an 8/10.
 

[Saint Rubenio]

9 hours ago, This boi uses Nino said:

I'm waiting for the dum-dums who will complain the animations are slow and thus this game is 3/10 (even though GBA animations are also slow as hell). Also for the professionals who will say the game is easy (whilst not acknowledging they like have been playing for 10+ years) and give it a 2/10 (not saying it isn't easy but it's not something you just mindlessly do).

Hello. Professional dum-dum here.

The GBA animations are kinda slow, but at least they're visually appealing for the most part, and turning off animations speeds things up a lot. PoR's animations are even slower and really stiff, and "animations off" really just means "same slow animation but on the overworld". Also, I know this isn't a problem with the game itself, but the GBA emulators for the most part can be sped up, whereas the only GC emulator, Dolphin, has troubles doing so. Again, not the game's problem, but it's a solution the GBA games have that Tellius lacks.

Maybe I just had a blessed team, but it absolutely became a mindless game eventually. It was always rather easy, but it was... decently fun. I had to think my moves, at least. But then everyone grew to be so overpowered that the enemy stood no chance. By the time Tanith joined, everyone killed everything in one round and it took 12 hits to kill any one of my units, so it just became a matter of moving forward every turn and watching the game play itself reeeeeeeeeeeeally slowly. Four chapters later, I got sick of it and quit.

And I'm not a professional. I'm pretty bad, actually. But there are only so many ways for a game not to be piss easy when every unit has +10 in every stat over the enemy and the enemy doesn't even have decent equipment to compete with.

The story is good, but story can be enjoyed by watching a playthrough, and between the slowness, the terrible difficulty and the average-at-best map design, playing this game is extremely unenjoyable for me. 3/10, the lowest I'd give to any game in the series. I acknowledge the virtues of its story and characters, but I wouldn't replay it for anything.

Edited June 12, 2020 by Saint Rubenio

[Rapaille]

5 hours ago, This boi uses Nino said:

I'm waiting for the dum-dums who will complain the animations are slow and thus this game is 3/10 (even though GBA animations are also slow as hell). Also for the professionals who will say the game is easy (whilst not acknowledging they like have been playing for 10+ years) and give it a 2/10 (not saying it isn't easy but it's not something you just mindlessly do).

Well, no need to wait anymore!

To be perfectly honest I can understand why people like Path of Radiance and it's not like I dislike it solely for the slow & easy gameplay (just look at FE4). I just think it isn't interesting enough to warrant having both slow & easy gameplay. The characters, while generally good, also never resonated with me. Most character fell in the "Yeah, they're cool I guess..." category which is quite a crowded category. Same with the story, it works but didn't leave an impression on me. Bonus EXP also wasn't that special because they are just extra level-ups for units you where gonna use anyway.

If I was able to skip enemy phases it would be still not be one of my favourites because of what I mentioned before, but I would at least consider playing it again as oppossed to now where I feel that it just wastes my time without offering anything unique.

[whase]

Only reason I don't replay this game more often is because it's so slow. But when I do I truly enjoy the gameplay and love the characters and story. While I will admit that for example Fates Conquest has better gameplay, that game is still near the bottom of my list, since I dislike all characters and hate the story. I guess different players have different reasons to replay a game, and that's fine. I understand that PoR has its drawbacks and isn't as great to others as it is to me.

[vanguard333]

I absolutely love Path of Radiance, with it not only being my favourite Fire Emblem game, but also my favourite video game. I recognize that there are probably better video games, but I just like Path of Radiance. To me, the characters, story, worldbuilding, and gameplay are all great. 

15 hours ago, Ottservia said:

Ashnard is a pretty cool villain though I kinda wish we got to see him more before actually fighting him but whatever I suppose.

I understand; I personally am just glad that he had actual presence throughout the story unlike a lot of FE final bosses, even if he never personally interacted with the main heroes.

 

15 hours ago, Ottservia said:

I really liked the rivalry between Ike and the black knight but honestly it could’ve used more grandiose but otherwise it was good. 

I'm not sure what you mean by this; what do you mean by "it could've used more [grandiosity]"?

[Hanes]

9 hours ago, Saint Rubenio said:

And I'm not a professional. I'm pretty bad, actually.

Lies, however did you manage to beat FE6 ironman? I can't even beat chapter 4 normally... preposterous to say you're a bad player. Anyone who has played over a decade or almost a decade is good.

[Saint Rubenio]

1 hour ago, This boi uses Nino said:

Lies, however did you manage to beat FE6 ironman?

By not doing a full ironman. Roy died many times, I just didn't stop there because it would've made for a pretty lame LP. I also lost like 30 units. Not exactly the best example of amazing veteran skills.

Edited June 12, 2020 by Saint Rubenio

[Hanes]

56 minutes ago, Saint Rubenio said:

By not doing a full ironman. Roy died many times, I just didn't stop there because it would've made for a pretty lame LP. I also lost like 30 units. Not exactly the best example of amazing veteran skills.

What you're talking about is the extreme ironman. Roy dying and you resetting the whole game is something streamers do for entertainment value, doing an ironman even when lords die is like fine by my book, as long as you don't purposefully kill your lord to reset, you still have lost all the units from the previous chapters or whatever.

Perhaps you're right, you're a terrible player. And I just happen to suck even more.

[samthedigital]

21 hours ago, This boi uses Nino said:

I'm waiting for the dum-dums who will complain the animations are slow and thus this game is 3/10 (even though GBA animations are also slow as hell). Also for the professionals who will say the game is easy (whilst not acknowledging they like have been playing for 10+ years) and give it a 2/10 (not saying it isn't easy but it's not something you just mindlessly do).

It's kind of funny because I think that the appeal to this game is that it is kind of mindless Fire Emblem entertainment as far as the gameplay goes. It's definitely the easiest game released outside of Japan in my opinion, and how good (or bad) I am at Fire Emblem has nothing to do with it. I'm not sure why you are so seemingly critical of legitimate complaints though, and you seem to be under the assumption that people would not criticize other games in the series for similar problems.

[Hanes]

1 minute ago, samthedigital said:

I'm not sure why you are so seemingly critical of legitimate complaints though, and you seem to be under the assumption that people would not criticize other games in the series for similar problems.

I am under that assumption because it's true. People praise the GBA animations as if they were these wonderful things but truth be told they're still slow and boring too watch for the millionth time. They are not bad but I don't exactly like watching them 10 times per enemy phase. So I turn them off on both the GBA and on PoR after a while. In fact the GBA games are overrated as heck, FE6's design is whack most of the time and no that doesn't make it some "genuisly designed game that tricks your expectations" it's just shit design; FE7 is a fucking slog to play through and FE8 lacks any sort of strategy and it's designed like whack but in the opposite way of FE6's "make everythign artificially harder for the player i.e missing".

In other words, it is true that people don't criticize other games for the same problems, like the GBA games, and that is why I am under that assumption.

[Dragoncat]

I never minded the animations, I was like WOAH 3D BATTLES. Go ahead and laugh at me if you want, but at the time it was like the coolest shit.

@Ottservia Will you be playing RD? Lots of cool stuffs in it, and it will answer questions you may or may not have. It will give you more insight on Ashnard and the BK.

[samthedigital]

1 hour ago, This boi uses Nino said:

I am under that assumption because it's true. People praise the GBA animations as if they were these wonderful things but truth be told they're still slow and boring too watch for the millionth time. They are not bad but I don't exactly like watching them 10 times per enemy phase. So I turn them off on both the GBA and on PoR after a while.

Battle animations with the animations off are twice as slow in PoR compared to the GBA games.

Quote

In other words, it is true that people don't criticize other games for the same problems, like the GBA games, and that is why I am under that assumption.

People have complained that FE8 is too easy, so if you have not seen that particular criticism you are not looking hard enough. Otherwise the GBA games don't really have the same issues as PoR does, so you won't find the same kinds of complaints. You can call FE6's difficulty 'whack', even though I would disagree, but that doesn't change the fact that it is more difficult than FE9 is.

[Hanes]

30 minutes ago, samthedigital said:

People have complained that FE8 is too easy, so if you have not seen that particular criticism you are not looking hard enough.

I have heard it but it's more of a light "it's an easy game" statement than a criticism of the game itself. Quite simply, if you criticize a GBA game you will get attacked like people who disliked Three Houses were when the game was between 1-5 months old.

Edited June 13, 2020 by This boi uses Nino

[Ottservia]

3 hours ago, Dragoncat said:

@Ottservia Will you be playing RD? Lots of cool stuffs in it, and it will answer questions you may or may not have. It will give you more insight on Ashnard and the BK.

I definitely will be though I need to finish Xenoblade first

[Tediz64]

On 6/12/2020 at 10:58 PM, Ottservia said:

I definitely will be though I need to finish Xenoblade first

When you do get around to it, just letting you know, Laguz are so damn broken, it is absurd. Give some laguz units some LTC and they'll absolutely wreck everything and leave no survivors.